Carbon tax worst economic reform, says outgoing Future Fund chief

National political reporter

Outgoing Future Fund chair David Murray has described the carbon tax as the "worst piece of economic reform" he has seen in his lifetime. Photo: Karen Maley

Outgoing Future Fund chairman David Murray has given a searing exit interview, blasting the carbon tax as the worst economic reform he has ever seen.

''If you want me to tell you my view, it is the worst piece of economic reform that I've ever seen in my lifetime,'' Mr Murray told ABC radio this morning.

Mr Murray, who is due to finish at the Future Fund next month, said that the ''notion'' of the carbon tax was not the issue, it was the ''consequence''.

He said it would raise costs within Australia and reduce Australia's competitiveness in energy exports. ''[It] therefore renders us less competitive in the future,'' he said.

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Mr Murray said Australia should look to reducing its energy consumption rather than introduce the carbon tax.

''The sweet spot in dealing with the climate problem is to reduce reliance on energy,'' he said.

Last year in an interview with The Australian Financial Review, Mr Murray cast himself as a climate sceptic.

"Well carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, it is colourless and odourless. It is not a pollutant," he said. "There is no correlation between warming and carbon dioxide."

Mr Murray added to his previous criticism of the mining tax by saying that it was ''clumsily'' introduced and ''clumsily'' designed.

Treasurer Wayne Swan dismissed Mr Murray's comments, saying the outgoing chair was a "well known opponent of the science of climate change".

Mr Swan told ABC television that the government took its scientific advice from the CSIRO and that Australia's emissions trading scheme was world's best practice. "I just reject what Mr Murray has to say," Mr Swan said.

Acting Greens leader Christine Milne said Mr Murray's comments could not be taken seriously because of his previous rejection of climate science.

"If you don't respect the science of climate change, it completely skews the lens through which you see the future," Senator Milne said in a statement today. "Mr Murray's views are those of the middle of last century."

Mr Murray was first appointed to the Future Fund in 2005 and reappointed for one year from April 2011. Before that, he spent 39 years at the Commonwealth Bank.

In the interview, Mr Murray also said it would not have been a bad idea to appoint former treasurer and Future Fund board member Peter Costello as his successor.

He said Mr Costello — who was the board's choice for chairmanship — would have been in a ''unique'' position to lead the Future Fund, given that he founded it and is a former treasurer.

''You could expect Peter above all to stringently support the independence of the fund,'' Mr Murray said.But Mr Murray also said that new chairman, businessman David Gonski, would be a good appointment.

''There's no question of that,'' he said, noting Mr Gonski's stature within the business community.

Mr Gonksi was originally given the task of reporting to the government on who should replace Mr Murray for a five-year term.

Mr Gonski found that Mr Costello had the ''strong endorsement'' of the board, before he himself was appointed as chairman earlier this month — provoking strong criticism from the former treasurer.

Mr Costello, who has since been appointed by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman to conduct an audit of the state's finances, said the selection process damaged the Fund's reputation and called it a ''shemozzle''.

The $73-billion Future Fund was established in 2006 by the Howard government to help pay for public sector superannuation.